Looking for advice on where to live (30 year old single male, $1200/mo budget). (Seattle: apartments, rent)

[ExquisitePotato]

I'm considering a move to Seattle from Dallas and wanted to get some advice on where to live in Seattle.

These are my requirements:
- $1200/mo or less (I will most likely get a roommate)
- Urban/Walkable area with a lot of people around my age. I don't care too much for the nightlife scene, but if that happens to be the area where all the young singles are, I certainly am okay living there as well. Ideally I'd like to be able to get around without a car, if possible.
- I'm an Asian who would like to be in a neighborhood that has a high percentage of other Asian.

That's about all I can think of right now. From what I've read, it seems like Capitol Hill would be a great walkable neighborhood with a lot of young people. Bellevue seems to have a higher Asian population, but much less urban, so it seems like I'll have to pick between urban/walkable, or Asian neighborhood.

If you have any recommendations or comments, I'd love to hear them. Thanks in advance!

[Kayela]

Do you have a job lined up? Traffic is pretty nasty - generally it's a good idea to minimize your commute as much as possible, and let that be a large determining factor in where you live. So if you know the area where you'll be working, that would be a good place to start.

[homesinseattle]

Beacon Hill in Seattle.

[VirtualErik]

I'm focusing on Renton, Aurburn, Kent and Federal way as my job will be in the SeaTac airport. Also keep in mind that apartments require you gross 2.5x or up to 3x or more in monthly income more than the monthly rent, that's the issue I ran into, I can afford the rent up to $1300/mo as I have no debt, but I don't meet many of their requirements for income.

[ExquisitePotato]

Originally Posted by Kayela

Do you have a job lined up? Traffic is pretty nasty - generally it's a good idea to minimize your commute as much as possible, and let that be a large determining factor in where you live. So if you know the area where you'll be working, that would be a good place to start.

I'll be keeping my current job and working from home, so traffic will be a non-issue for me. Sorry, I forgot to mention this in my original post.

Originally Posted by homesinseattle

Beacon Hill in Seattle.

Thanks! Is this area a good walkable area and how diverse of a neighborhood is it?

Originally Posted by VirtualErik

I'm focusing on Renton, Aurburn, Kent and Federal way as my job will be in the SeaTac airport. Also keep in mind that apartments require you gross 2.5x or up to 3x or more in monthly income more than the monthly rent, that's the issue I ran into, I can afford the rent up to $1300/mo as I have no debt, but I don't meet many of their requirements for income.

Thanks for the heads up, I'll keep this in mind. I think I'm grossing ~$5200/mo, so it sounds like I should be okay here.

[homesinseattle]

Yes, Beacon Hill and nearby Columbia City are some of the most diverse areas in Seattle. The north end of Beacon Hill is pretty walkable, Columbia City very much so too. The other neat thing, you can live walking distance to light rail here, which opens many possibilities.

[treuphax]

Originally Posted by homesinseattle

Yes, Beacon Hill and nearby Columbia City are some of the most diverse areas in Seattle. The north end of Beacon Hill is pretty walkable, Columbia City very much so too. The other neat thing, you can live walking distance to light rain here, which opens many possibilities.

"you can live walking distance to light rain here"

This is splendidly true. But availability of light rain is pretty excellent anyplace west of the mountains from Canada to California.

I live in North Beacon Hill. It's ok. Not bad. Not quite as happening or walkable as Capitol Hill but also not nearly as expensive, loud and congested. According to this useful map, it's for those who "couldn't afford Capitol Hill.

On a bike, it's a pretty good central location to get Downtown or too.

[homesinseattle]

treuphax, well played. Glad my spell correct provided the segue

[ExquisitePotato]

Thank you for suggesting Beacon Hill. I'd still like to be in the most happening part of town, so as long as I can find something that isn't extraordinarily expensive, that will be my first pick, but Beacon Hill seems like a solid second. From what I'm gathering, it sounds like you'll get more bang for your buck there, it's more diverse, it also has a decent amount of things to do, and you have good rail access to quickly get you to other parts of town, is that correct?

But if price were not a factor, are there any benefits to picking Beacon Hill over Capitol Hill?

[homesinseattle]

Sure. Cap Hill has more going on. It is also much more expensive and much less diverse.